IBM on Second Life: More than PR

"Consider what it would mean for corporate planners to be able to experiment with models of their suppliers, customers and employees in a virtual world."

PLM

That IBM is forming virtual process jobs inside virtual space is very cool. This week PBS News Hour had a story on a Bill Gates Foundation project, a new school that offered every student a lap top to do school work with. The school work was very high on computer use as real project education. So! an IBM Second Life connection with schools for tutoring services or an education template for study might be a new form of Second Life education. Getting students to trade education products and tutoring services, as virtual labor for virtual or real pay just might be, a teaching bot coming out of Second Life may make real tutoring services and teaching obsolete, they are thinking on real work in virtual space.

If you thought IBM's presence in Second Life was impressive before; you should take a second look now. It is growing by leaps and bounds daily. They have more than doubled their presence and offerings in the last few months.

FIRST VIRTUAL STRIKE ON "SECOND LIFE"
The people of Second Life is moving to defend IBM employees rights.
It is announced as the first "virtual strike", the first online demonstration in the famous virtual world of Second Life.
And it will involve in September one of the biggest worldwide corporation: IBM.
The unions are mantaining the silence on the organization of this event, but we believe that the effects will be really impressive.
IBM is a globally integrated company with over 300000 workers worldwide, and since many months is pushing the mass-media with a strong campaign based on the innovation.
The italian IBM employees should have well understood the concept: at the "old-factory-style strike", they are substituting the new "virtual strike".
It seems that the reasons for this first virtual strike are related to the renew of the internal agreement: while IBM is one of the company with major profits, its employees are receiving very few fruits of this big mountain of money.
The internal climate is below all the IT industries (taking advantages for the famous IBM's competitor: HP), and the drop that overflowed the glass is the long and inconclusive negotiation for the internal agreement.
While the workscouncil, supported by the majority of IBM Italy employees, was asking for a small salary increase, IBM responded with the complete suppression of the "productive results benefit", with a loss for a single employee of 1000 euros per year.
For a company that wants to lead the corporate social responsibility, this is really too much.
So this is the reason for the innovative virtual demonstration, the first in absolute in the Second Life world.
The high offices of the company are worried..cause this action will turn on the lights on the project of creation of a global union alliance, that is engaging the unions from over 16 countries worldwide, including the new IT boundary: India.
IBM will succeed to avoid this explosive initiative of its "too much innovative" employees ?
Investors and stakeholders hope so...

It looks like IBM's enthusiasm for Second Life doesn't stretch to recognising its staff. How about this from an internal IBM blog from one of its metaverse evangalists (aka epredator)

Posts you cant write - Dear someone up top.
There is something I have found that is really annoying about blogging. Thats the things you really cant write. Not becuase of any guidelines but because it just makes you feel so angry that it will come out wrong. I guess when you have grievance and stressful emotions against the company you work for, one that is a systemic one not directed at any one it is hard to express them without causing individuals problems.
The problem for me is that I am not seeing results from the company that I would expect. So I am giving IBM a PBC of its own. Has it actually discharged its duty towards me over the past 2 years of me bringing metaverses to our business.
It may well be doing something quietly, under the covers, but it is not showing any real results. So a the moment I am giving the company as a whole (again not the individuals close to me in the organizational chain) a PBC 4.
Both my first line managers here in the UK and the US, and the CIO IQ organization are great, they have listened to me and heard my point of view and I have been very patient. It the is company as an entity where the balance of what I have done versus the thanks and recognition is very much in the red.
However.... I am still here (unless this is a cause to tell me to stop moaning and clear off). One of the reasons is that I have dedicated a lot of time effort, stress and personal money to this. I now know a whole lot of very very good people in this company. Hence I am somewhat hamstrung as anything I do effects all of them/you. So I cant do anything. I cant write my warts and all book "Who says elephants cant rez", I cant close Hursley and IQ islands in Second Life as people have builds there, I cant remove eightbar as a group in SL as lots of things will then break due to returns policy across the various islands, I cant talk to the press about it as that will make IBM look like it does not look after its people.
I dont believe that that really is the case. I dont believe that up there in IBM exec land people really want to think. "Well someone does all this, takes all these chances, shows real vision and leadership brings together a global community. Lets just ignore him and hope he goes away".
Now if there is something really fantastic, more than the thing that appears to have slipped into next year now, out there in IBM land, then please tell me about it so I can honestly tell everyone how great IBM is at dealing with innovation that matters.
Dont ask dont get I reckon, as being moderately quiet about this has not worked thus far. Of course now demanding action publicly becomes a reason to not have any action because it just makes things difficult.
Still I suppose its on £5000 in expenses on SL islands and rent for the company. Plus of course the tens of thousands of pounds earning lost due to getting a really really bad PBC for bucking the system last year (not then triggereing any reward systems at all bonuses etc). Yes the company is in hard times, but if the incentive for making a global difference with press, anaylsts, CEO's, conferences, blogs, customers, colleagues, putting us on teh global map as an innovator in virtual worlds (and hence in lots of other ares), becoming a world thought leader and representative is just stress and 4 lapel pins then well of course I would do it all again!
Bottom line. Its not just the money. Its the sheer lack corporate level action to say thankyou. Lots of thanks awards from colleagues, lots of feedback on linked in, lots of wow that was great from customers.
Our core values...
- Dedication to every client’s success.
- Innovation that matters – for our company and for the world.
- Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships

IBM's relationship with me seems to not fit into the 3rd one. I have and do deliver on all 3 all the time, but where is IBM's responsibility in its relationship with me?
So if in writing this I am messing up some delicate negotiations, or showing a side of me that make it unpalatable to do x, y or z then sorry. I dont think that I should sit and wait anymore, though am torn on actions to take other than this.
Its been too long, taken too much time and not yielded any results, so if an action is not working, stop doing it and do something else.
You never know the company may just make me a DE or something crazy for just standing up for myslef?

I repeat I dont think this is my immediate line managements fault, I have been happy the the attitude and approach this is a PBC 4 for IBM as a whole towards me and what I have done.

Ok so thats nearly off my chest. Yes there are other people also need things yes its a harsh world and yes this will soon all be ancient history

My response to this rather unusual "leaking" of something that is not all that relevant to most people.
http://epredator.blogspot.com/2007/12/wow-i-must-be-famous.html
Still good to see cut and paste works

Wow Tina... You sure have changed your tune.

So are you anti-pred or anti-IBM?

From your previous posts I thought it was just some personal flaming thing against pred - and from reading it I'd have to say completely petty and unreasonable. Lets have those urls, huh?

http://terranova.blogs.com/terra_nova/2007/08/player-vs-playe.html
AND
http://terranova.blogs.com/terra_nova/2007/08/what-a-performa.html

search for "Tina Bell" and enjoy... Thoughts anybody?

so if it's not something personal against pred, how did you get his blog post from an INTERNAL IBM website? Do you work for them yourself, or you getting that info elsewhere?

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